There once was a telesummit. And then it ended. It had all kinds of hoopla attached to it: great press, lots of media coverage, expert guest stars, fun video’s, lots of cool new (to us) technology, 50- 60 hour weeks of prep work to launch it, enough angst and sleepless nights wondering when were going to mess it up to fill Brooklyn’s new Barclay Stadium, a social media frenzy, a cool Facebook Group, lots and lots of new contacts, a shiny new mailing list, JV partners, great material for new blog posts and newsletter content, heck we even had a legal agreement. It was an official “thing”.
And, yeah, then it ended.
In the meantime, prior to our launch, I’d had clients, and then during the project didn’t have time for many of them and so back burnered them. My funnel, which used to be there..(really! I had one! ), all but disappeared, because, well that’s what happens when you don’t pay attention to your funnel: they move on.

My time, which a few weeks earlier had been so filled that I barely had time to throw food at my kids during a drive by, despite my commitment to walking the walk of and teaching the skills to be able to ‘work smart, not hard’ now was suddenly, well, there again. We were, at least for the time being, until the next project launch, essentially…. freed up.
Dan Kennedy, master marketing guru, talks about bundling your days into projects, rather than having to-do lists with 12 different non-relating items on them as being much more efficient. He claims, and I agree, that when we break our to-do lists into tasks of unrelated items, our ability to focus and do a superior job at these tasks is compromised. In other words, we end up, like so many of our over-medicated kids, on an ADD bender, accomplishing a few of each days tasks, but none too well and rarely finishing. Dan goes on to equate project bundling with the way an actor working on a project would manage his/her time. While preparing for the role, he/she would be totally focused on learning her lines, once on set, she would be immersed in taking on the role and interacting with the other actors, etc. His point is that while immersed in a project, the really good actors have blinders on; there is nothing else.
Agreed. I’ve tried it both ways and I’m with Dan.
That being said, here in lies the danger…..see first five paragraphs.
There is a delicate balance to be had in total project emersion and taking your eye off the ball. Us small business folks can’t afford to do that. Once we’re the next Bradley Cooper, then perhaps maybe- Bradley’s got people to handle the rest of his life. But we little wee folk? Not quite yet. We can strive for this, that can be our goal; the day our “handlers” make sure all of our balls are neatly spinning on without us, but until that day comes, immerse away, for sure, but don’t forget your funnel!!
This much I can happily report, which gives me a bit of an “aaaah”: my blog continued and still continues to run on auto pilot- not the writing of the blog posts of course, but the automated pieces that run in the background while the telesummit ran me. It makes money for me, and keeps me very happy.
That’s the good news.
Now then, due to my 75% negligence of my consulting and mentoring practice over these last 3 months, it’s time for me to make a win- win proposition for us all, so come on over here where you can learn how to do the same, and make some money while you get some sleep!

This happened. And he won the case- $120,000 awarded to him from a judge because, as the judge explained, the wife, unbeknownst to the husband, had undergone over $100,000 worth of plastic surgery prior to meeting him, and so was deemed “deceptive”. I kid you not. Never mind that the child’s gene pool was 50% his (a paternity test was run and the husband was in fact found to be the biological father). Never mind that….oh, what the hell….this story is worthy of a glass of wine. Or a bottle.

Why, you wonder am I bringing it up here? A bit underhanded, you say, as much as the Enquirer worthy story really stinks of ickiness, it did get you to open the blog and read on, didn’t it? Heh, heh…..

Point? Headlines sell copy. A good headline will compel you to read on. I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but every now and again we need to be reminded of the great pull and importance of great content and even more important, great headlines, that draw you in and make it impossible not to click. Sad, true, that this particular story actually is true, but the lesson remains vital: if your headline isn’t urgent and irresistible it doesn’t matter how great your content is, because no one will see it.

So, a few take aways:

A compelling, if not sensational headline is VITAL, if not somewhat sleazy. But vital never-the-less! Your job is to make it less sleazy. Good luck.

A headline or blog subject which takes advantage of Google Trends, or Yahoo Trending Now will garner you a much higher ranking in the search engines, as people are searching for more info on trending topics.

Incorporating these into a good quality blog post with great content is the stuff great blogs are made of. Yup, I said it…..

Some headline guidelines that work:

Use a sub headline: “The 5 biggest secrets to a great blog post; how to get them at hello” …it’s a specific clincher that seals the deal.

Make it a “how to”: “How to Create Killer Headlines guaranteed to make people click to open”.

Ask a relatable question: “Are you making these mistakes when writing your blog?” folks will identify, and want a solution.

Use a testimonial to sell your content. Probably the most powerful incentive out there for someone to click into your site: “How I earned $12,000 in 1 day from following Suzen’s advice”. Woah.

Announce a benefit: “Learn the 6 best kept secrets to creating a website that makes money while you sleep.” Best kept secrets sell. Note to self.

Let’s re-cap: look at the techniques at work in this blog post: Using a headline or topic that is trending on Google or Yahoo translates to a highly searched blog that will be indexed high just by virtue of association to a highly searched story. Linking to high ranking authority sites- great for SEO, hyper-linking to my other relevant blog posts- keeps people on the site with more opportunity to scroll around my site and see how they can work with me.

Point: give people an irresistible reason to click into your blog to draw attention to your content and make sure that your content keeps them there and you are well on the road to creating a valuable destination. Now that they’re there, what’s on your blog that will translate into sales?

Week 2 of our Mom to Mompreneur Now! tele-summit ended with a big whahoo! And as Jennifer and I sat

through both Jane Pollak’s interview on Tuesday and Kathy McShane’s interview on Thursday clasping hands and praying to our respective Gods that no technical snafoo’s would occur, I can happily report that we made it through both events with no lost connections, no hang ups, and plenty of interaction. We built it, we spread it, people came. Maybe Kevin Costner was right after all. Both Jane and Kathy were oh so generous with their time, their tips and their stories, folks actually asked questions and were able to walk away with a huge amount of value which I’m hoping they plan on putting to god use ASAP.

Are you a-scared of technology? Does the idea of doing social media make your eyes roll back in your head? Are you clueless and exhausted at the idea of making sure you’re business is front and center when people are looking for you? Fear no more (insert loud drumroll and trumpets). This week we tackle the technical side of being found like it’s kindergarten. You’ll walk away saying “this is what I was so afraid of? Easy Peazy stuff!”

Tuesday, Oct. 16 1:00 PM EST: Come join us when Lena Westof Influence Expansion, Social Media Guru to the stars, joins us at Mom to Mompreneur Now! (ok, officially being shortened here to M2MPNow to share her vast knowledge,and to help you learn how to work smart, not hard with your social media- something I am personally chomping at the bit for, in her talk:

Get to the Money Behind the Media: How to Leverage Your Social Media Influence to Drive Real Business Growth

Monetizing social media has been akin to trying to stay away from the dessert table – difficult, but not impossible. Whether you want to call it monetization or ROI, the bottom line is the same: everyone wants to know what they’re going to get if they spend their time using social media.

How can you REALLY get to the money behind social media and use social channels to build revenue streams, land more clients and sustain passive income.

Look for the hidden cash flow sources in your social media marketing

Identify the people who influence you

Get others to willingly spread the word about your products and services

Redefine monetization and get on with reaping the rewards of expanded online influence

Tuesday Oct. 16 6:30 PM Join me at the EWN October Dinner at the Stamford Marriott where I’ll be helping you get FOUND online with Do-It-Yourself SEO, and tips your webmaster won’t share with you. click here for more info on this fun night, which includes dinner and a drink.

Thursday Oct. 18 1:00 PM EST It’s my turn to be interviewed and share with you what you need to know about creating a monetized blog or website:check it out:

Get Noticed: Create a Blog that Makes Money While You Sleep

Here’s what you’ll walk away with, and when we’re done, you’ll be able to ask me questions online or on the phone:

How to structure your blog correctly the first time around (and save you lots of $)

What key ingredients are necessary to transform your blog into a cash machine

What content SELLS

How to monetize your blog with affiliates

How to get your blog in front of the people you want to serve….fast

click here to register for Lena’s program, my program and replays of Jane Pollak and Kathy McShane’s programs and for access to the rest of the series

The series runs every Tuesday and Thursday until October 30, 2012. Replays of each session will be available within 24 hours of the event so that you can listen anytime, anywhere. You will receive an email for each replay link.

We’d love you to get in on the ground floor. Invest in yourself. Click here to register

And join us in our Facebook group at http://tinyurl.com/cmof99a where you will be able to keep up to date on all things Mom to Mompreneur Now! You’ll also be able to can also ask both Lena and myself questions for 30 minutes after the events, if you did not get a chance to do so on the call.

Aha! Struck a chord, eh? Probably the #1 biggest issue I get from frustrated, beleaguered bloggers is that of the empty comments box. I know, I’ve been there, and often times, I’m still there, resorting to a steady stream of urgent pleas for interaction from my faithful posy. Payments works as well, especially for a teen comment.

I’ve let all this go, slowly, for the most part as I’ve found that in the last 2 years of blogging, slowly but surely my readership has, indeed increased and so has the response rate. Understand however, that just because folks aren’t commenting does NOT mean they are not reading, absorbing and appreciating your words.

Did you get that? I said “Not much of a correlation!” Did I make your day? [Read more...]

That’s What She Said

Suzen Pettit’s business growth speech was both impactful and inspiring. I gained practical insight and valuable tips on increased online visibility and marketing tactics at large. A savvy coach, Suzen motivated me to “Get Cracking!”

Aline Weiller, Founder, CEO, Wordsmith, LLC

Suzen did a fantastic job evaluating my Frittabello website. Not only did she provide the information in a clear and ‘user-friendly’ way, she really cared about how I could implement these changes and offered many suggestions that would save me time and money. I would highly recommend Suzen to anyone looking for real, workable solutions to enhance their website performance and SEO

Jennifer Covello, Owner, Frittabello

Suzen is a great mind for your business. After spending 2 decades as a senior corporate marketing exec it is refreshing to work with someone who is agile, smart and unbounded. Suzen brought a fresh perspective to our business on many levels; adjusting our lenses with regard to driving web traffic, leveraging social media, creating new and different tools designed to “spread” naturally through the internet, and ultimately increasing walk-ins. She is also a groovy and edgy chick who isn…

Suzen and her team whipped my website into shape and in front of the exact market I was looking for but didn’t know how to find on my own. I’m a Veterinarian, not a marketer. I didn’t really understand the value of digital marketing or social media strategy for that matter, but now I do. In the last 6 months we’ve been working together my walk in rate has increased by at least 20%, especially in the last month. Wonderful. Thank you so much! Recommend highly.

Kevin BrandsonDVMPet TailsWhite Plains, NY

My OB-GYN practice was way behind the times technologically. We had nothing to distinguish us on the internet from any of the many other practices in the area. Suzen’s expert guidance and the skills of the Omaginarium team enabled us to increase our visibility , expand our marketing options and most importantly draw new patients to our offices. We have been so successful that we have added a new Physician Assistant to handle all the increased traffic.

Miriam H Khan, MD

Our start-up was having a difficult time getting noticed online. And then came Suzen. 6 months later we now dominate page 1 of Google. She’s inventive, so easy to work with and fun. It’s been a pleasure working with her and the results speak for themselves.

Jack ConnerFounder and CEOQuara

“Last nights EWN event “Rock Your Website to the Top of Google” ROCKED ! As a long time member of EWN, last nights event was one of the most memorable for walking out with lots of ammo. Suzen filled every inch of her talk with useful information and moved things along at a pace that kept everyone in the room stimulated, inquisitive and wanting more…glad to hear she has a webinar coming up in January. Great job, thanks Suzen!…”

I went to Suzen because Over40Females.com was not built to capture emails – no one told me that our “Newsletter” tab hidden in the corner was not enough. After one short meeting, Suzen told me how to strategize my homepage to make people want to sign up, and how to do it affordably. I have to be honest, I was skeptical, but after doing exactly what she recommended we immediately went from 2 – 3 newsletter sign-ups per week to 2 – 3/DAY and continuing to grow!
Thank-you!
Judy

I came to Suzen because my website was nowhere, and when I say nowhere I mean it was nowhere. It needed optimization in a big way. My practice is only 3 years old and I finally have time to devote to getting “my word out”. Suzen has made it so easy, doing for me what I don’t have time to do myself, creating creative forms of content to set me apart, in her words from “the maddening crowd”. I’m now getting referrals from practices that were unaware that I existed 6 months before. She’s upped my b…